ladybird

British

/ ˈleɪdɪˌbɜːd /

noun

Usual US and Canadian name: ladybug. any of various small brightly coloured beetles of the family Coccinellidae, such as Adalia bipunctata ( two-spotted ladybird ), which has red elytra marked with black spots

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ladybird

C18: named after Our Lady, the Virgin Mary

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Annette also went from reading legal documents to children's Ladybird books.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

The second test, called a long term CVS culture, showed their daughter, who the couple had nicknamed Ladybird, had no chromosomal abnormality.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2025

If so, you’re lucky — I, like Ladybird, would not.

From The Verge • Mar. 12, 2020

He oversees the tiki bar Mother of Pearl; the craft-beer bar Proletariat; Amor y Amargo, an intimate bitters- and amari-focused haunt with tiled surfaces that evoke Madrid; Ladybird, a Baroque-accented “vegetable bar,” and more.

From Washington Post • Feb. 13, 2020

Ladybird Hope’s smile twitched at the corners as the video came over the feed.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023